CHAUNCEY WOODRUFF STARKWEATHER -- 117thINFANTRYMYSTERY CONNECTION TO CLINTON COUNTY - Why is Chauncy WoodruffStarkweather on the Plattsburgh Clerk's Records of 1865 that enumeratedCivil War soldiers? The record says he enlisted in this Town for 3years, but no other documents support his enlistment. Maybe he wasvisiting here in1865 -- maybe it was a clerical mistake.Four other men were also recorded as enlisting in Plattsburgh -- JamesCaton, Martin V. Green, William Hiter and Charles Reopel. Some haveobvious connections to Clinton County, others don't. Two other menenlisted in Saranac and Schuyler Falls were also in the 117th. Not allwere in the regiment from 1862, some enlisted as late as February 1865.The 117th Infantry was formed in August 1862, and Chauncey was one ofthe first to enlist in Camden, Oneida County. They first served in thedefenses of Washington, then after about 7 months, were ordered to theSiege of Norfolk and spent the rest of the year in North Carolina.Just after the Siege of Battery Wagner on the coast from August 5th toSeptember 7, 1863, and the beginning of the operations in CharlestonHarbor, Chauncey was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps onSeptember 13, 1863. Whether it was for physical or mental reasons is notrecorded. He was finally discharged on September 10, 1865, from CompanyA of the 22nd Veteran Reserve Corps two months before the last man wasmustered out of the Corps.In 1890, Chauncey applied for and received an Invalid's Pension, and,when he was 60 years old, he died and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery inTitusville, PA. His family seems to be scattered around the country, butnone in Clinton County.
